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James C. Moody

Source: From the Biographical History of Clark and Jackson Counties, Wisconsin published by The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
pages 206, 207, 208

James C. Moody, of section 9, Hixton Township, Clark County, was born in Monroe Township, Perry County, Ohio, November 7, 1837, the son of Hiram Moody, a native of Topsham, Maine, born August 20, 1810. He was a coast sailor in the cod fisheries several years, and also worked in the pineries during the winters. He removed to Ohio in 1827, and in 1852 came to Wisconsin, where he bought 820 acres of land from the United States Government in Vernon, then Badax County. In 1854 he brought his family to this State, and settled on Round Prairie, one and a half miles from Viroqua, on land he purchased from the State. Our subject's mother nee Sarah Longstreth, was born at James' Mill, Muskingum County, Ohio, December 20, 1810, about eight miles from Zanesville. She was one of the first white children born in that county. Her brothers were noted drovers, and our subject went with them over southern Ohio, driving stock to various points. Her uncle, Michael Longstreth, owned large estates of coal land in southern Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Moody had six children, all of whom grew to maturity, and five are now living, namely: James C., Catharine, Martha, Nathan E. and Abigail. One son, Bartholomew L., was killed at the battle of Corinth while fighting for the Union. The father served three years in the late war, in Company C, Eighteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, was wounded at Shiloh, and now draws a pension.

James C. Moody, our subject, also served in the late war, in Company I, Sixth Wisconsin Iron Brigade, serving four years. He was in the battles of Gainesville, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Rappahannock, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. He was wounded in the right thigh at the battle of the Wilderness and left lying near the battleground without any protection from the rain and storms, was taken a prisoner and held for thirty-one days. He caught cold, and both ears swelled shut, having lost the hearing entirely of the right ear. He was taken to Belle Isle, where he was kept for some time, then to Lynchburg, where a great sore came on the back of his head, which was infested with maggots. They were nearly starved in prison, and often had to eat spoiled meat, and many of his comrades starved to death. He lost fifty-eight pounds in weight while in prison. While they were being removed from Lynchburg, a railroad bridge took fire, and !
while the guards were busily at work to extinguish it Mr. Moody and five others escaped. After wandering for seven days and nights, almost starved, and at times nearly recaptured by rebel cavalry passing within a few rods of them, they evaded their pursuers, traveled over 120 miles, and reached Chesapeake Bay. Here they made a raft by lashing two bridge timbers together, and were making their way across the bay when they were met by a passing Union steamer, laden with wounded soldiers from Petersburg, and were taken on board. They were so nearly starved that they had to be guarded to prevent them from injuring themselves by eating too much. They had been two or three days with nothing to eat. At one place one of the party slipped slyly into the Negroe quarters of a plantation, while the others lay concealed in the brush of a ravine nearby and at once made his wants known. The woman put a splendid dinner in a basket, and an old Negroe man took his fishing pole and the basket !
and started down the ravine toward the creek, where he sat the basket down and began fishing. The boys came up, had a feast, and had enough left for another meal. They were also helped at other points by the slaves. Mr. Moody afterward returned to his regiment, and was in the battles of First and Second Hatcher's Run, Boydtown Plank Road, Gravel Run, Five Forks, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. He received a brevet Captain's commission for bravery on the battlefield, and also held all the noncommissioned offices in his company.

After the war, Mr. Moody was engaged in farming two years in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, and then went to the city of La Crosse, where he worked for C.C. Washburn as sawyer and filer during the summers, and scaled logs in the winters for twelve years. He then spent one year working for other parties, and in 1881 came to this county, and took charge of a mill for Mr. Washburn, which he ran six years, and is a logging jobber.

He was married, November 7, 1860, to Ann E.S. Adams, who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, April 24, 1840, the daughter of Lewis G.P. Adams, of Vernon County, this State. They had two children: Edwin L. and Clara. Edwin married Lucinda Amo, lives in Minneapolis, and has three children: Edwin L., Robert I., and Walter E. Clara married Walter H. Smith, a merchant of Withee, this county. Mr. Moody was married to his present wife, Ellen Carleton, a daughter of Thomas V. Carleton, of Neillsville, Wisconsin, May 12, 1878. The father was a Mexican soldier and a pioneer of Sheboygan County. Mrs. Moody was born in the latter county, June 22, 1850. Mr. Moody is a member of the G.A.R. and the A.O.U.W. fraternities at Withee. Has been Justice of the Peace for six years and has been Postmaster. He owns 520 acres of land, and draws a pension of $25 a month.

Mr. Moody's genealogy is as follows: his grandfather, Nathan Moody, was born on Lake Umbagog, Maine, a son of Lawrence A., a son of Joshua R., a native of Muirkirk, Ayshire, Scotland. The latter had a land grant from the king of England, with a commission as Lieutenant-Governor of the then Province of Maine. He crossed the ocean in 1692, and settled in Maine, where he was the Governor for some time. His son Lawrence and another son were under General Wolfe at the Heights of Abraham; the former was wounded there, his brother was killed, and his bones still lie on the Heights of Abraham. Nathan Moody and a brother were soldiers in the war of 1812, and another brother, Alexander, was in the Florida Seminole war, where he is supposed to have been killed. Our subject's uncle, James W. Moody, was a soldier in the Mexican war. His grandfather on the maternal side, Bartholomew Longstreth, was a soldier in the war of 1812, under General Crogan, and a brother, Philip Longstreth, was also in the same war. Mr. Moody's brother, Nathan, was President of the Wisconsin State Farmers' Alliance, and is now Secretary of the same.